Hold Onto Me
by KNDnumbuh007
Summary: in a terrible accident, Mike is gone and Mal takes over right before high school graduation. Years later, Mal escapes prison and ends up breaking into Zoey's apartment. Next thing he knows, he's tied to an old chair making a deal with her for both their own good. Zoey knows it's a bad idea to let him stay but she can't help but think... Mike can still come back, right?
1. Intruder!

**Hi friends! Here's the new story I promised so I hope you guys will enjoy this!**

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In the tiny, rundown apartment, the only sound that was heard was soft music playing that was coming from the radio. The song finished playing on its last delicate note when the radio DJ came on. _"That was Hazy by__Rosi Golan__. You're listening to SONG radio with Elliot. I have to interrupt your singer/songwriter music for a moment to broadcast some important news. Mal Manifold has escaped the Toronto Correction Center and was last spotted on Steeles Ave. he is male, dark brown hair, brown eyes, 6'1, teal short sleeves shirt, blue jeans, and an old pair of brown and white sneakers. Mal is very dangerous and advised to stay alert of your surroundings and to not approach him. Notify the police immediately. Now back to No Matter Where You Are by Us!"_

Zoey leaned over the small, old table and turned off the radio. She wasn't in the mood to listen to the radio anymore. Zoey's head hung down as she read the newspaper, the news of Mal seemed everywhere. She tucked in a loose red segment of hair behind her ear as she read on. Zoey didn't mind reading the newspaper, she'd rather watch the news of all things, but she liked to support good ol' paper printing. But then she would contradict herself by saying watching the news on television would save trees. It was always a battle in her head which to do.

Zoey just graduated college and was able to get her own apartment after all the money she collected in college. It wasn't a nice apartment, but it was quant. She was able to get a job working with the local theater as a costume designer. Hopefully one day she'll be able to grow from the local theater. Today was her day off, and thank god for that. The director wanted the lead actor's costumes within a few weeks and Zoey has been working her butt off. Measuring and remeasuring and then getting the fabric to put it all together was time consuming. Zoey folded the newspaper and stood up to grab herself some breakfast. The usual English muffin and a latte.

This is what her usual morning routine. Grab the newspaper, skim through it, breakfast, put on clothes for the day, and then go to work. But today was different because she could take her time in the morning since it was her day off. Zoey would also be singing and dancing along with the radio… but she didn't want to hear anymore about Mal.

Mal or Mike, she didn't know anymore. The incident still haunted her after four years, right when they were about to graduate high school. She was with Mike, Cam, Sam, Gwen, and Duncan when they decided to have some fun at the park that was just down the block from her house. They had nothing else to do, so why not? When they arrived, Zoey went to the swings with Mike, Duncan and Gwen went to carve something in a tree, Sam only went down the slide once before pulling out his Game Guy and Cameron didn't want to touch anything from the park because of the germs. After a few minutes of swinging and talking, Duncan called over to Mike.

"Hey, Mike! You can still do gymnastic stuff right?"

"Yeah." Mike called back.

"Does that mean you can do a handstand on top of the swings?" Duncan asked.

"Probably, but that doesn't mean I'm going to do it." Mike said.

"See, me and Gwen have a tiny bet." Duncan explained. "She says you can do it, but I say that you can't. Gwen says she's seen you do it but I have to see it with my own eyes."

"I'm not going to do it, Duncan." Mike declined.

"I think it was all wires and smoke. The show hooked you and that's how you were able to fool everyone." Duncan challenged.

"Duncan, you know he can do it easily." Zoey remarked. "Don't push him like that."

"If he can do it easily, why doesn't he do it now?" Duncan inquired.

Before anyone else was about to object, Mike stood up and started to stretch. "Alright, Duncan. I'll do it no problem, I'll make you eat you're Mohawk."

Duncan couldn't help but laugh. "The day you make me shove it is the day I ask Gwen to marry me." Gwen couldn't help but give a small laugh as everyone knew Duncan and Gwen weren't exactly the family type.

Zoey looked nervously at Mike and stood up to put a small hand on his shoulder. "Mike, please be careful."

He turned to her with a smile on his face. A smile that was so confident that he just felt like nothing could go wrong. "I've done this so many times, Zoey. It'll be fun to see Duncan go down on one knee." Mike gave a laugh along with one more stretch before jumping up and flipping himself on the top of the swings. He stood on the pole with ease and then brought both hands down to do a handstand. Everyone cheered as Mike still held that confident smile.

Mike's adrenaline pumped through him as he then decided to show off and then use only one hand to balance him. The cheers went to awe as then Zoey felt a bit nervous now. Duncan cupped around his mouth to call out to Mike. "Alright, I get it. Stop showing off before I knock you off!"

Mike knew he was joking around, so he couldn't help but retort. "I want to see how you ask Gwen to marry-"

Zoey didn't know what happened to Mike at that moment. Mike suddenly stopped talking as his body wavered on the pole and was defiantly going to fall. "Mike!" Zoey screamed for his safety, hoping that a magical net would come out and save him.

Mike fell quickly as everyone ran to him in worry. Duncan was first there and muttered. "Oh, shit."

"Mike, mike!" Cameron asked concerned for Mike. "Are you okay?"

"Of course he's not okay," Gwen said quickly. "He's out cold!"

"Someone hurry and call the ambulance!" Zoey demanded.

Zoey snapped out of the memory as she noticed her English muffin seemed to be done toasting for awhile now. She quickly popped it into the microwave to reheat it. Zoey remembered visiting him in the hospital and how he was mute the whole time. He woke up but he wouldn't respond. His eyes would look at you when you first walked into a room but he wouldn't acknowledge you after that. At first, it made Zoey's heart break. How could he ignore her like that? But the more she visited, it bothered her less and less. It wasn't until Mike's parents were concerned for his mental state since he wouldn't talk to anyone for no reason and brought back his psychiatrist. After the first session, his psychiatrist came to a pretty shocking conclusion- Mal was back.

The session must have taken a turn for the worst for his psychiatrist to decide that. According to him, Mal somehow permanently took over and Mike wasn't going to come back. Zoey didn't know what happened with Mal at that point because she knew better than to reach out to him. She didn't know if his parents kicked Mal out or if he ran away. Either way, Mal was sent to jail and he just escaped.

That all was a distant memory though. She moved on from all of that and found herself in the process. After going to art school to try sculpting, she changed to costume design. It was quite a change from going to stone to fabric but it was something she had fun with. Especially since she loved to make clothes from the Victorian area- so big and puffy.

Zoey didn't want to work on any of her costumes today, or even see them. She grabbed her muffin from the microwave and then buttered it before it became cold again. She then made herself a latte and did a fun little design before sitting back down again with her breakfast. Zoey just sat there with her own thoughts. She saw no point of turning anything on since she would only be there for a few moments.

When she finished her English muffin, she put the plate in the sink before grabbing her mug and traveling to her bedroom to change. She put on her red, sleeveless, crop top and khaki shorts before doing her hair. No rubber bands for her since she outgrew that style. Her hair fell down to the middle of her neck as all she did was brush it to get the knots out. Zoey never liked to style it unless she needed to, so it was naturally straight. To keep the hair from falling into her face, which was a common occurrence while designing, she used a flower pin to bring back the side of hair that is usually too stubborn to stay tucked behind her ear. After her hair, she quickly did her makeup with her special red lipstick, mascara, and a very thin line of eyeliner to make her dark brown eyes stand out some more. In a way, she never really changed appearance but she defiantly matured.

She looked behind her at the clock by her bedside to look at the time- Almost 10:30. Cameron was supposed to pick them up so they can check out the street fair down the block. Zoey offered to pick him up on her Moped but Cameron didn't feel safe. He'd rather drive to Zoey's and walk to the fair. After the fair they were going to get lunch, as friends of course, as a celebration. Cameron should've picked a job by now. He can either be a rocket scientist or a brain surgeon since he doubled major in rocket Scientology and Neurosurgery. She knew he wasn't going to bring it up at the fair, or even at lunch, since he was too humble to do such a thing. Zoey knew lunch would be the best time to discuss.

Zoey then went to her bathroom to brush her teeth of any leftover breakfast or morning breath. She smiled before she went to fix her lipstick. Brushing after she applied her lipstick was a common mistake.

_Creak. _Zoey heard as she set down her lipstick. She turned to the open door way to see if something was there.

_Thump. _Zoey rolled her eyes. Duncan usually liked to just walk into her apartment anytime. He became a good friend but even after switching the locks on him, he still was able to get in. Zoey stomped out the door.

"Duncan, stop breaking into my house! What you are doing is illegal and I don't want to call Gwen again to-" Zoey said exasperated before something grabbed her and pulled her back roughly.

_"Intruder!"_ Her mind shouted.

Her eyes widened as her mouth was covered and a blade was brought to the side of her face. "If you so much as scream, I will kill you." The voice said in a deep tone in her ear.

She wasn't just going to be robbed blind, she could barely pay rent! She also wasn't going to wait for Cameron, he wouldn't exactly help in the situation either. Zoey noticed the intruder relax the blade a bit before she swiftly kicked him in the groan.

She moved out of the way as he went to grab his crotch in pain. Zoey grabbed a pot that was hanging above her sink and whacked him in the head.

He fell down hard as the blade fell out of his hand. Zoey, as fast as she could, grabbed it and held out the pot in front of her in defense.

The man groaned as with one hand he held his crotch and the other with his head. Zoey wasn't about to feel bad as she ran for her land line phone and dial the emergency number. Her thumb was on top of the dial button before she asked. "How'd you even get into my house?"

"You still are an air head from when I last saw you." The man grunted out as he was able to look at Zoey.

Zoey gasped and almost dropped everything in shock. "Mal?"

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**Wow big shocker, it's Mal! -_- I feel like everyone saw that coming haha. Oh well, please update and let me know what you think!**


	2. When Foe's Collide

**Hey guys, so thanks for all the reviews! Espeically danny3.0, blackcatneko999, freakyfangirl136, and hazukoinuzuka14 for the reviews! Btw yahoo forcibly updated my mail so it's all confusing right now so I'm sorry if I wasn't able to personally thank you for the review this time but next time I will! Enjoy!**

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"Yes, now give me some damn ice." Mal groaned as he held onto the parts of his body that hurt.

Zoey wasn't about to give into his demands. Rather, she held out the blade in front of her. "How did you even get in?"

"You're still an idiot as ever before." Mal muttered. "You left the window to the emergency exit open."

"I didn't think anyone would climb in!" Zoey defended.

"My god you're stupid." Mal said.

"I am not!" Zoey protested. "I'm calling the police."

Mal snapped his head up which gave him a head rush. He groaned at the pain once more. "Wait, wait, if you do then I'm stuck in that hell hole."

"That's not my fault." Zoey put the phone to her ear as she heard the phone dialing.

"You wouldn't want to see Mike taken back to jail, would you?" Mal asked in a sly tone.

"You're not Mike." Zoey wasn't about to give in to his smooth talk as she knew his tricks.

"Mentally, but this is his body." Mal slowly rose up and stood with a bit of a wobble. She looked at him with the corner of her eye. "Do you want to see his body harmed in anyway?"

Zoey hesitated for a moment. True, Mike was gone, but this was still her body. Even though she vowed she wouldn't get involved again, she couldn't help but think it was her duty to at least watch over Mike in some way. Zoey glared at him as the emergency operator picked up. "911 what's your emergency?"

"C'mon, you know what happens in prison." Mal persuaded.

The operator spoke again. "Hello?"

Zoey pointed to the chair. "Sit."

"I do my own-" Mal was about to protest until she sent him a nasty glare. He grudgingly complied as he sat down. Zoey went quickly to a lone drawer and pulled out rope and tied him down. She spoke into the phone. "Hi, I'm sorry, the child I was watching took the phone and dialed 911 by accident. This isn't an emergency."

"Alright, thank you." The operator stated curtly before hanging up on Zoey.

Mal looked at the rope tied around his body. "Was this necessary?"

"I know what you can do, I'm not risking anything." Zoey stated as she put the phone away.

"And here I thought you were still an idiot." Mal replied with a twisted smile.

"Explain to me why you're even here." Zoey said as she ignored his last comment.

"I need a place to crash so the police can get off my case for a while." Mal explained with ease.

"What if they come here?" Zoey asked thinking about if she gets caught.

"They won't. That's only possible if you cause suspicion, and you're not the criminal type." Mal looked her up and down and gave a smirk.

Zoey stomped on his foot hard. "You pig, don't look at me!"

Mal gave a loud yelp as he yelled. "What am I supposed to look at then? Your ugly kitchen?"

"Exactly!" Zoey said before back tracking. "And it's not ugly, it's quant!"

Mal calmed down and blew a huff of air. "Whatever."

They remained in silence before Zoey asked. "What will I get in return?"

Mal eyed her for a second before replying. "I'm not giving you money if that's what you're thinking. In return, I'll keep Mike's precious body safe."

"Is that all?" Zoey scoffed.

"Is that all?" Mal asked as he raised an eyebrow as he replied sarcastically. "You're lack of love hurts."

"I'm only giving you my attention because of Mike and my attention for you is diminishing." Zoey said as she raised her nose in the air.

"Alright, alright, how about I provide protection?" Mal offered.

"Protection?" Zoey scoffed again.

"You know, scoffing at everything isn't going to make anything better." Mal said annoyed.

"I'm sorry but your ideas are ridiculous." Zoey replied with a small condescending giggle.

"Judging how I broke in, you need it." Mal stated.

"And I took care of it myself." Zoey replied with a smirk.

"Next time, you won't be so lucky." Mal said darkly.

Zoey thought about it for a moment. There was practically nothing she could get out of Mal staying- well… except for one thing. Despite the apartments small and vintage stature, she could barely afford it with the money she was making at the theater for costume designing. Zoey turned to Mal briskly. "Not only will you protect me from anything else and yourself, but you must also get a job."

"What?" Mal asked incredulously. "I can't show my face in this town."

"You were able to take on Mike's persona. I'm sure you can pull something off." Zoey explained. "That's the deal. I'm not just going to have you free load around the house."

"And where am I going to get a job?" Mal asked with his anger rising.

Zoey had enough of his incompetence. She was giving him an offer and he was whining like a baby about it. She yanked the collar of his shirt to forcibly pull him in close proximity to her. "I'm not a little pushover anymore, I'm not going to have you free load. This is the deal that's on that table. You refuse to take it, I'm calling the police again."

It was an all out glare war until Mal sighed. "I really don't have a choice."

"Also-" Zoey started until Mal gave the loudest groan he could muster. "Whaaaaaaat."

"You have to promise not to hurt me or any of my friends." Zoey demanded.

"I promise I won't hurt any part of your pretty body." Mal said with a condescending smile.

"Mal, I'm serious." Zoey said.

Mal rolled his eyes at her. "I said I'd offer some sort of service, didn't I? I won't hurt you-"

"Or my friends!" Zoey interrupted.

"Or your stupid friends." Mal finished.

"Good." Zoey then nervously undid the ties on the chair. She imagined the worst possible scenario or everything that could go wrong. Especially now, he could kill her right here! When she finally undid the last knot, she braced herself. When there was no pain, she gave a sigh of relief and put the rope back in her emergency drawer.

Mal rubbed his tender wrists as looked around the room. It was connected to the living room which held a pathetic amount of furniture- a tiny, worn couch, an old television, and a bookcase. This place was disgusting. He curled his lip in disdain at the condition of the apartment and thought, he deserved better than this. It would make do though, it was better than prison. He was top guy at prison but it didn't compare to the food, fresh air, and freedom he had outside.

"I was just wondering, Mal," Zoey asked as she fixed herself up. "How come you chose my apartment?"

"Besides for what I said before, I knew where you lived." Mal explained as he proceeded to the bread box and pulled himself an English muffin.

"How?" Zoey asked curiously.

"Despite the fact I've taken over, Mike's interests where always there." Mal put the muffin the toaster. "I hated the fact he wanted to know where you guys always were but I couldn't do anything about it. So I kept tabs."

Zoey didn't like the feeling she was having. The feeling that she could be easily found by someone like Mal. It unnerved her. She let it slide since now, as much she hated it, Mal could watch over the place. "What was your plan once you broke in?" Zoey asked.

The muffin popped up and Mal quickly took it to put some jelly on top. He grabbed the jelly from the refrigerator and poured some directly from the jar to the muffin. Spreading, I guess, didn't seem necessary. Before taking a bite, Mal said nonchalantly. "I was going to threaten you and if it didn't work I was going to kill you."

Zoey was taken aback by how easily he said it. Her eyes widened and she tightened her lips in shock. When Mal swallowed his bite, he continued on. "I suppose I could've just threatened for a better deal when you untied me, but you have the upper hand."

Zoey didn't want to ask what her upper hand was- it could give him the advantage. She had a feeling Mal knew that, but something that used to be part of Mike must've held him back and restrain him. Zoey silently thanked Mike for that, despite the fact he would never hear it. A knock was heard at the door and Zoey went to go and open it.

When she opened it, there stood Cam. Like Zoey, there wasn't that much of change. Cam grew somewhat, to the point now he was the same height as Zoey (which isn't much) and better clothes attire. Zoey was about to give him a cheery greeting when Cam gasped in complete horror. "Zoey! Mal's in your house, run! I'll call the police."

Zoey hastily grabbed the cell phone out of Cam's hand before Mal could come out and do anything about it. "I know, I know!" Zoey said quickly.

"What?" Cam froze. "You know? Zoey, do you need me to examine your head? Do you realize who this is?"

"Yes…" Zoey said as she sighed. She knew letting Mal in her house was going to stir a bunch of trouble. "I know it's crazy and I know he belongs in jail, but I just couldn't."

"Is it because it's Mike's body?" Cam asked in disbelief. "I can't believe you , Zoey! How could you just let him in so easily."

"For the record, I was able to tie him up." Zoey interjected.

"Only because you played dirty!" Mal called from the kitchen.

"Playing dirty? If I didn't defend myself you could've killed me!" Zoey yelled back. She cringed as he realized that was not the best thing to say in front of Cam.

"Zoey!" Cam yelled in anger as he put his hands on his hips. "This is completely stupid!"

"I know, but I just felt like Mike can come back somehow and things could go back to normal." Zoey said sheepishly.

"Zoey, things were fine. Now it's a mess! I'm not letting you have him in your house." Cam said.

"He's getting a job, he's not free loading." Zoey said like it was such an easy solution.

"Gah!" Cam groaned in annoyance as he rubbed his face. "This is stupid."

"I know…" Zoey said as she looked down knowing full well what she was dangerous.

"You could go to jail."

"I know…" Zoey repeated.

Cam looked back at Mal, who was still leisurely eating his muffin with satisfaction, and then back at Zoey. "Let's just go to lunch."

Zoey gave a sigh of relief as she smiled and gave Cam a hug. "Oh, thanks Cam!" Zoey went back in the apartment and turned to Mal. "You better have a job by the end of the day or else I'm kicking you out and calling the police."

"I'll just hit you then if you break the deal." Mal replied nonchalantly as he took his last bite.

"I have a few tricks up my sleeve." Zoey warned.

"I'm now interested to see what your defense is." Mal said with a crooked smile as he turned to her.

"Zoey…" Cam warned.

Zoey went up to him and smacked him upside the head. "Just go get a job, alright? Let's at least try and have harmony."

"Don't touch me!" Mal shouted as he didn't want to be touched. He hated being touched, especially by her.

"Remember. Job." Zoey said seriously before walking out with Cam.

They walked to the street fair in silence as everyone tried to gather their thoughts. Zoey pointed out a small lunch place and asked. "Do you want to eat in there?"

"Sure." Cam said curtly.

Zoey could tell by his tone, he was not happy. This was supposed to be a happy occasion and now she ruined it- and boy, did she feel bad. When they sat down, Zoey asked. "Are you mad at me?"

"Of course I'm angry." Cam said calmly as he scanned the menu. "But I refuse to cause a scene in a family restaurant and pretend everything is mediocre in my life."

"But it's not, because I happen to know you made your decision on brain surgery or rocket scientist." Zoey said as a large rouge smile displayed on her face.

Cam glanced at her behind the rim of the glasses and sighed. "I chose brain surgeon."

"That's great!" Zoey said blithely. "Lunch is on me."

"Wait a minute," Cam stopped Zoey as a small smile played on his lips. "You planned this all along, didn't you."

"Well… yes, but c'mon! It's a good reason to celebrate!" Zoey said excitedly.

"I suppose." Cam gave in. The waitress came by then and they both ordered. Zoey has been to the restaurant before and knew they'd be out within thirty minutes, Cam on the other hand, thought it would be a long day. "I'm not letting you pay."

"And why not? You don't deserve to pay." Zoey said with a giggle.

"Because I know you can barely pay your bills." Cam said without softening it whatsoever. Zoey was taken aback by how Cam was able to say that so easily. He would usually be so bashful about saying stuff like that, but now it seemed that it came easy. Zoey was even a little insulted.

"How would you know that?" Zoey asked.

"I see the urgency stamps on your bills." Cam said now a little bashful as he tried to look elsewhere.

"Nosy…" Zoey muttered.

"Zoey, I know another main reason why you're keeping Mal is so you can pay your bills. That's very superficial of you." Cam said.

"Is it so wrong to have a little help around the place?" Zoey said defensively.

"It is when the guy is a criminal!" Cam said a little too loudly. They both noticed people stare at them and he began talking in a more hushed tone. "I don't want you to let your guard down around him."

"I'm fully aware, Cam. I just want to see if Mike will be able to escape." Zoey said.

"Zoey…" Cam looked at her sympathetically.

"He's going to come back, I can feel it." Zoey said firmly.

Cam felt bad for Zoey. It must be tough to see the love of your life again. I mean, it wasn't technically him but it was him in physical form. She must be really hoping for a miracle of the sort. Their food arrived and they ate. Zoey ate less considering she just ate breakfast just a little under an hour ago, but she definitely wanted to talk to Cam before anything else. When the check arrived there was the usual debate whenever they go out.

"I have the check." Zoey proclaimed as she grabbed the small black folder and look at the bill.

"Stop, you need to keep your apartment." Cam disagreed as he snatched the bill.

"But I know you're in serious debt for college tuition." Zoey grabbed it back.

"I'm steadily paying it off, you need to worry about your own money." Cam grabbed the check back again.

"Look, we always have this fight. Let's just split the bill. At least let me pay for tip." Zoey compromised.

"Fine." Cam gave in and set the bill down in the middle. When they left, they explored the fair and all the little shops set up in the tent. They had a good time together and everything that worried them left their minds for now. Dark started approaching and the tents were closing. Zoey sighed in sadness. "I can't believe they're all closing already."

"You were able to get some pretty neat fabric for costumes." Cam pointed out.

"I guess…" Zoey said as she looked down at the rolls of fabric she purchased. She loved making costumes but there were some cute clothes she wanted to buy. Of course her budget wouldn't allow it though. Cam dropped her off in front of her apartment and before he walked off, he said with concern in his voice. "Please, just be careful."

Zoey gave a small smile before nodding. "I know."

She went up the flight of stairs before seeing Mal outside the door. She asked as she took out her keys. "What are you doing out here?"

"You never gave me a key to the apartment. So I've been stuck here for hours." Mal said in a tired and irritated voice.

Zoey couldn't help but let a small laugh escape. The great Mal defeated by being locked out. "So you went job hunting."

"It wasn't much of hunt since I was practically given the job." Mal said.

Zoey opened the door and said surprised. "You already have yourself a job?"

"I still have Svetlana's personality, too. I just went to the local gym and offered my services as a gymnast coach." Mal said as he crashed on the couch.

Zoey went in the work room and set her new fabrics down on the work table. She called from the other room with a laugh. "You're willing to work with children?"

"Shut up, it's not like I wanted this!" Mal exclaimed. Zoey searched in the closet in the room and found a few blankets that she kept for the winter time since they were thicker.

She came back and tossed them on top of Mal. "Here are some blankets."

"I'm not sleeping here." Mal said as he threw back the blankets at her.

"You're not sleeping in my bed." Zoey replied.

"What if I make you?" Mal asked with a curl of the lip.

An idea came to Zoey, a really stupid idea. But she felt like it would be affective. She leaned forward over the couch to get close the Mal and stared at him for a second before screaming as loud as she could. Mal fell of the couch in started and sat up angrily. "What the hell was that? Practically giving me a damn heart attack!"

"You so much as do anything I will scream. Don't forget our little promise." Zoey replied clearly winning the argument.

Before she went to get ready for bed, Mal called out to her. "Our agreement is hanging by a pathetic piece of string. If either one of us cracks, we're screwed."

Zoey knew that fully. They needed each other pretty badly and they weren't about give up the pros that came with it. Either way, they would have to be on a pretty major guard no matter what. She closed the door on him, not dignifying with a response since he knew well that meant that she knew. Zoey changed into her pajamas and then heard Mal's feet shuffling towards her room. She heard his low and ruff voice and said. "By the way, despite what you think, Mike is _never_ going to come back." And shuffled away.

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**Yes they are now roommates… let's so how well that'll last. Please review and let me know what you think! C:**


	3. Long Day at the Theater

**So sorry I haven't been able to update but it's been the end of school so of course schoolwork comes first! Now that I'm graduated and in summer I can focus on this story! Thanks alice Orihara Scarlet, xXSakina28Xx, guest, DarkPrincess129, guest, Tigersfury, and BlackCatNeko999 for the loving reviews! Enjoy! C:**

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Zoey woke up in her tiny room as her alarm clock awoke her. Her alarm clock going off only meant one thing- work. Yes, her weekend off was great (well, despite Mal) but now she needed her money. Zoey drudged into the kitchen and turned on the radio, popped in an English muffin, and boiled water for her tea. She turned on her radio and went to wash her face while everything was cooking. The cold water seemed to wake her up a little more than the caffeinated tea. When she went back in the kitchen, she heard Mal yell. "Will you please shut up?"

"I have to get ready for work." Zoey explained. "Speaking of work, when are you starting?"

Mal stretched on the couch and said, ignoring the subject. "This couch is really soft."

"It's probably, like, fifty years old. It's really worn in." Zoey said as her English muffin popped up from the toaster. She grabbed some cinnamon butter and spread it on her muffin. She pulled out her chair and sat down next to the radio and took in the feeling of the sunlight that was shining through the window. Zoey looked at Mal, who was able to get off the couch, walk over towards her. It seemed he stripped down to a white tee shirt and his boxers for bed. Zoey's assumption was proven right when she looked around and noticed his clothes in a messy pile next to the couch. His hair was disheveled from the couch and instead of it all staying down, some stuff up and Zoey couldn't help but giggle.

Mal clicked his tongue in disgust. "This place is too calm."

"That's good considering that'll be the only time I will be before I go to work." Zoey said as she bit into her breakfast.

Mal roughly pulled out the other chair that sat on the other side of the table and plopped down as he then slouched in his chair and crossing his arms stubbornly. "I can't deal with calm. I need chaos!"

"As long as you're taking shelter in here, I don't need you attracting attention." Zoey warned.

"I don't need any attention on me as I do now." Mal stated.

"Only Cam knows about this." Zoey said with a hint of irritation in her voice. She couldn't believe he was worried that one person knew.

"I don't need to be noticed by anyone. I should've just hid out in here." Mal said more to himself than to Zoey.

"That's weird." Zoey said as she finally finished her muffin and then took a sip of her tea.

"I'm being discrete." Mal explained. "Make me breakfast."

Zoey nearly choked on her tea as she laughed. "I'm not your maid."

"You're the host, you must meet my needs." Mal said as he gave a yawn.

"You're staying in my apartment. Until you bring in your first paycheck, then I just might." Zoey said as she grabbed her mug and went into the bathroom.

"What if I make you?" Mal called to Zoey from the kitchen.

"I know you won't, because I know you can't." Zoey called back as she gave a small laugh.

Mal grumbled as he made himself breakfast. These demands were ridiculous. Zoey was ridiculous. Him getting a job… he'd soon rather kneel before Zoey than do that. People kneeled before him, especially in jail when everyone did his bidding. He was king of that place, one punch was all that he needed to make him run that place. But of course he favored not always being watched by the guards and everything that wasn't jail. I guess the only plus was everyone doing what he said. Now he had to abide by Zoey's rules- and that bugged him.

Zoey came back out of the bedroom fully dressed and a rolling rack full of big costumes. Mal asked. "What's that?"

"My costumes. I'm a costume designer." Zoey replied as she glanced at her work before her. "I have to finish up measurements before I start on the other costumes."

"I don't care." Mal said as he returned to his breakfast.

Zoey stuck out her tongue at him before walking out the door. Before she went fully out though, she popped her head back in. "You never replied to me, when do you start your job?"

"I was supposed to be there thirty minutes ago." Mal replied nonchalantly.

Zoey banged the door fully back open. "Mal, hurry and get dressed!" she ran back in and threw Mal his clothes. "You can get fired on your first day."

"Oh, I'm really hoping for that." Mal said as he caught his clothes and slowly put them on.

Zoey's anger flared, which was hard for her to do since she was an easy going person, but Mal seemed always be the cause of her anger. "If you lose your job, I'm kicking you out!" Zoey yelled at him.

"How many times have you already made that threat?" Mal said with a condescending smile. When he finally put on his last bit of clothes, she pushed his back and shoved him out the door.

"I'm serious. I will stay in a hotel room so you can't come back." Zoey said angrily.

"I'll just break in." Mal loved to see how she was getting so mad at him.

Zoey opened her mouth before closing it and then groaning very loudly at the sky and waving her hands in the air. "I can't believe I decided to let you stay! You're so infuriating!"

"Alright, I'm going, I'm going." Mal finally had enough and went on in front of her towards the gym by taking the stairs down. Zoey on the other hand, walked over to the elevator and practically punched the down button. She took a few deep breaths and told herself. _"Leave drama here, not the workplace."_

The last thing she wanted to do was show up angry at work and have her client hound her how she's "angry sewing" or something dumb like that. Zoey took the elevator down and then proceeded to walk the few blocks down to the theater. When she entered, everyone was rustling around in a panic about something. Her heart rate went up quickly because she knew whatever these actors did, it involved her in some way.

"Zoey, thank goodness!" The director came up to her. He was largely overweight and his face seemed always pink in the face, like he was constantly out of breath. But this time, his worry didn't help his health as his face looked redder and his breathing was large gasps. He was balding on top with gray hairs on the side of this head, which would just look better if he just decided to shave it instead of save it. This everyone, was her boss.

"Mr. Portly, what happened?" Zoey asked as she looked around.

"Oh, it's awful! Our lead actor moved out of town!" Mr. Portly said as he took out a handkerchief from his pocket and dabbed his sweating forehead.

"Moved out of town?" Zoey asked confused.

"Well, he didn't exactly move. He was behind on his taxes and ran from the feds but what we're telling everyone is he moved." Mr. Portly explained.

Zoey looked at him in shock, the play was in a few weeks and her costume was just finished. Now she would have to size another actor and get started immediately on the costume. She sighed out her troubles and then put on the fakest smile she could muster. "Mr. Portly, just go call the understudy and calm down everyone. I'm sure the understudy will pull through."

He stared at her for a second before taking out his cell phone from his pocket. "You're right, you're right. I'll quickly give him a call to see if he can come in now."

Zoey couldn't believe that this man was the director. He didn't even think of the understudy at all, goes to show how he only cares only about his show than others. When she walked backstage, she made an announcement. "I'll be doing measurements for extra actresses today and then actors tomorrow. So all the actresses being measured, please make a line."

There were almost extra's that were actresses, she couldn't even think about how many extra actors there were. Zoey rolled out her measuring tape and proceeded to write down and measure each actress.

As she proceeded to measure each woman, the actor playing the villain in the play popped out of nowhere. "Hey, Zoey. Whatcha doing?"

Zoey almost groaned out loud. This guy was literally one of the most annoying guy's she's ever met. He was constantly around her, trying to get her to go on a date with him. At first glance, anyone would find him attractive. But when his mouth starts to open, you want to close it back shut. "Hey, Justin. As you can see, I'm working."

"That's cool, so you have my costume done?" He asked.

"It's like I told you Friday- it's not going to be done until it nears the date of the play." Zoey replied.

"I just want to break it in, you know? It's not like everyday someone like me-" as Justin kept on rambling, Zoey's mind went off. Not only was this guy annoying, he was a big nerd. Who wants to just walk around in their costume? She's fine with loving the costume, but wanting to wear it every day is just not… right. What if he tears it or spills on it? What then?

"Justin." Zoey said to get his attention.

"Hm?" He stopped midsentence to pay attention to her.

"Doesn't the director want you on stage?" Zoey asked as nice as she could to get rid of him. She hated being mean to this guy because despite his flaws, he wasn't a bad guy.

"Right, right." He said quickly before rushing onto the stage to get ready to look over his part again.

Zoey couldn't help but give a little grin. She'd never admit it to anyone, but she secretly liked having an admirer. It was, in some way, flattery. The lady who was being measured said to Zoey. "Hun, if you don't have any intention of paying attention to him, you should let him know because he couldn't tear his eyes off you."

"Really?" Zoey asked as she measured the lady's waist.

"That was puppy love in action." The lady hummed as she gave a sly smile. Zoey gave a small laugh as she wrote down the measurements.

* * *

It was a long day at the theater. The understudy couldn't show up so she couldn't work on his costume, and taking all the extra actresses costume measurements took up the rehearsal time. Now she would have to start working on the costumes at home as well as in the theater in order just to get everyone's costumes on time. This was not worth 75 dollars a day, but at least Mal would be able to bring in money. She sluggishly dragged the metal rack full of clothes down the hallway and stood in front of her door before leaning her head against it and tries to get the door open. Who knew opening doors would be so tiring. Even though rehearsal is only four hours long, she had to stay later and start working on costumes- an exhausting day.

When she entered, she nearly had a heart attack as she didn't expect Mal to be eating a sandwich in the kitchen. He barely looked at her before saying. "You act like I don't even live here."

"How did you get- wait… did you break in again?" Zoey asked.

"What else am I supposed to do? I'm not just going to wait in the hallway again, what if I get noticed?" Mal asked.

"We should get you a key made." Zoey said in thought.

"No shit." Mal stated the obvious.

Zoey sent him a glare before rolling her clothes to her work room and shutting them in the room. She couldn't wait to collapse to the couch until Mal forcibly grabbed her back up. "What's the big deal?" Zoey said irritated from being depraved of comfort.

"You're getting me a key, now." Mal said firmly.

"But I'm so tired." Zoey said as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

"If I keep on breaking in, someone is bound to notice." Mal pointed out. "I'm actually surprised you're neighbors haven't seen me."

Zoey stood there for a second contemplating of either going to get a key or just falling to ground and sleep. Maybe if she just slept by the time the lock smith closed, they wouldn't have to go. Making a decision, Zoey decided to slump to the ground and try and sleep.

"Are you… are you trying to sleep?!" Mal asked incredulously. He understood she was tired but now she was just being lazy.

"Can you just go by yourself?" Zoey was able to mutter.

"Give me the damn key, I'm going." Mal held out his hand finally having enough. Zoey slowly pulled out the key and was barely able to put it in his hand. Mal shook his head at her. How pathetic, it almost made him want to kick her.

"Wait." Zoey whined before she held out her hand. "Money."

"Money? From my job? I don't get paid until the end of the week." Mal explained. Incredible. She had enough energy to ask for Mal's money though.

"Wait." Zoey repeated. She stood up and shuffled her feet over to him and grabbed the key from his hand. "I'm not being a very good person sending you away and then asking for money."

Mal probably would do the same thing but seeing her act like that made him annoyed nonetheless. "Damn straight you're coming with me. This key is more for your convenience than mine." Mal replied.

Zoey opened the door for both of them to head out, but instead, caught Gwen and Duncan with both of their ears pressed up against the door. They all made contact with each other before Mal groaned completely exasperated by the number of people that would visit Zoey. "Shit…"

* * *

**Yes, Gwen and Duncan now come in the story! I apologize for Mal's swearing but to be honest it seems like that would just be his character :/ I'll try and cut it down. Please review and let me know what you think! Let's try and strive for 22! **


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